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Al Clauser and His Oklahoma Outlaws and Patti Page

Another blog article started long ago, July 26, 2021, but never quite finished, until now. In 1982, Oklahoma was celebrating its 75th anniversary, the Diamond Jubilee of statehood, and it was one of the focuses (along with Korea) of the Smithsonian Institution's 1982 Festival of American Folklife. The program book...

Posted by Michael Bates on December 3, 2023 9:58 AM

Tommy Allsup, RIP

UPDATE: The funeral for Tommy Allsup will be held Wednesday, January 18, 2017, at 11 a.m., at First Baptist Church, Owasso. Flowers may be sent to Mowery Funeral Home 9110 N. Garnett Rd. Owasso, OK 74055. Legendary guitarist Tommy Allsup died yesterday, January 11, 2017, at the age of 85....

Posted by Michael Bates on January 12, 2017 12:06 AM

Curly Lewis and Reece Anderson, RIP

We've lost two more western swing greats in the last couple of weeks. Tulsa fiddler and vocalist Julian "Curly" Lewis died Sunday at the age of 88. Lewis spent much of his career with Johnnie Lee Wills's band in the late '40s and '50s, but he also toured and performed...

Posted by Michael Bates on July 16, 2013 7:26 PM

Busy week in Tulsa: Music, politics, movies, and more

I'm really not trying to encroach on Tasha Does Tulsa's territory -- she has the definitive guide to Tulsa area pumpkin patches, by the way -- but there are so many interesting things to do in and around Tulsa this week that I decided to put a bunch of events...

Posted by Michael Bates on October 9, 2012 12:37 PM

Let's call it Wills Park

The Wills boys, from left to right, youngest to oldest: Brothers Billy Jack Wills, Luther J. "Luke" Wills, Johnnie Lee Wills, and Bob Wills, and their father John Tompkins "Uncle John" Wills. From BobWills.com The George Kaiser Family Foundation is looking for public input on the name of the...

Posted by Michael Bates on March 16, 2012 10:10 PM

International Western Swing: Little Kim and the Alley Apple 3

Second in our series documenting the international reach of western swing music and compiling an invite list for Tulsa's (purely hypothetical at this point) International Festival of Western Swing. From the Bananapeel Jazzclub in Ruiselede, Belgium, here's Little Kim and the Alley Apple 3, performing the Johnnie Lee Wills song,...

Posted by Michael Bates on January 19, 2012 2:14 AM

Tulsa Playboys kick off Johnnie Lee Wills centennial year, September 10, 2011

The Tulsa Playboys western swing band will be back at Cain's Ballroom, Saturday night, September 10, 2011, for a special performance to kick off the centennial of Johnnie Lee Wills, with featured guests John T. Wills (Johnnie Lee's son), guitarist Roy Ferguson and vocalist Candy Noe, and Billy Parker, legendary...

Posted by Michael Bates on August 14, 2011 1:11 AM

"A Salute to Curly Lewis: Tulsa Western Swing Reunion" Thursday, July 21, 2011

This Thursday night, July 21, 2011, the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame will host a Tulsa western swing reunion to pay tribute to fiddler and vocalist Julian "Curly" Lewis, who performed for many years with Johnnie Lee Wills and His Boys, Leon McAuliffe's Cimarron Boys, and Hank Thompson's Brazos Valley...

Posted by Michael Bates on July 19, 2011 12:15 AM

Country, western swing discographies blog

Here's a blog that aims to provide complete discographies for hundreds of western swing, country, and rockabilly musicians. Each entry has three sections: recording sessions (when, where, session musicians, and tracks recorded), albums, and singles. Each album listing includes the titles of each track, although it doesn't link back to...

Posted by Michael Bates on August 17, 2010 6:38 PM

The Thingamajig

I recently came across a funny little novelty song recorded by Johnnie Lee Wills and His Boys called "The Thingamajig." It seemed just the song for a rainy day of fix-it projects. It's much in the spirit of "Rag Mop," an novelty number from 1949 that was a hit for...

Posted by Michael Bates on May 2, 2009 7:59 AM

National Fiddler Hall of Fame gala Wednesday

The National Fiddler Hall of Fame, based here in Tulsa, will hold its third annual gala and induction tomorrow night, Wednesday, April 29, 2009, at the Tulsa Community College PACE, 81st & US 169. (Gala tickets range from $30 to $100.) The featured fiddler is Mark O'Connor, who will perform...

Posted by Michael Bates on April 28, 2009 12:57 PM

Lullabyes of the West

My kids listen to CDs at night, usually one CD on infinite repeat, and over and over again for several weeks. Over the Christmas holidays they listened to piano instrumental versions of carols. I introduced them to the soundtrack of A Charlie Brown Christmas by the Vince Guaraldi Trio. We...

Posted by Michael Bates on February 19, 2009 9:40 PM

Vinyl appeal

This is a "bleg" -- begging on a blog. I need some advice and assistance. I recently came across and purchased a copy of the Johnnie Lee Wills "Reunion" LP, recorded on April 3rd and 4th, 1978 at Tulsa Studios, released on the Flying Fish label, and featuring an amazing...

Posted by Michael Bates on December 1, 2008 11:31 PM